Will Rodman
William "Will" Rodman was the son of Charles Rodman, the adoptive human father of Caesar, and the boyfriend of Caroline Aranha. Through his connection to Caesar, Will unknowingly became the adoptive human grandfather of Caesar's two young sons, Blue Eyes and his infant brother. He was the scientist who was responsible for the creation of ALZ-112, the so-called cure for Alzheimer's Disease. Like Robert Franklin, Will was one of the rare employees at Gen-Sys Laboratories who actually did care for animal test subjects, such as Bright Eyes, and did not simply see them as experiments. Will tried to record and communicate the results of Bright Eyes' successful completion of the Lucas Tower. When Bright Eyes attacked employees trying to lure her out of her cage, Will was explaining the effects of ALZ-112 on Bright Eyes to Jacobs and the board members of the lab company, specifically on her eyes. Bright Eyes was shot by a security guard despite Will trying to stop him from shooting her. Franklin decided to give Bright Eyes' offspring to Will. Will did not want to look after the young chimp, but had no choice. He raised Caesar in his home and acted as a father figure to him. Will's father, Charles, who was living with him, grew attached to Caesar and helped raise him. Will noted Caesar's growing intelligence - a result of the effects of the ALZ-112 inherited from his mother - at age 3, when Caesar memorized 24 English words. It was not until Caesar was a teenager that Will admitted that his true mother had died in the lab, after Caesar asked if he was just a pet animal to Will during a trip to the Muir Woods Park. Caesar later attacked Will's neighbour, Hunsiker, to prevent him from further threatening Charles, which forced Will to put Caesar into the San Bruno Primate Shelter. Caesar desperately wanted to return to Caroline and Will when he was locked inside the facility, but could not. Will later tested the ALZ-113 drug, which was stronger than ALZ-112, at the Gen-Sys Laboratory, but Will's father, Charles, passed away before he could get the results of the tests. He was also partially responsible for the pandemic that began with the new "cure". History Rise of the Planet of the Apes At the beginning of the film, Will was seen experimenting on Caesar's mother, to show his boss what Caesar's mother has been able to do because her newfound brainpower. Upon having a rough attack from Caesar's mother (Bright Eyes), he found a small ape in the same room the mother was in. He takes the young ape as his own to his house, where he was facing problems of his own concerning his father. Over the years, he noticed that Caesar inherited ALZ-112 and high intelligence from Bright Eyes. Three years later, he kept Caesar as his own and met Caroline starting a relationship with her. He also been questioned by Caesar about his true origins. Will seriously shows Caesar the truth about his origins and tells him about his own Mother. During the time his father was having dementia, decides to leave his house to enter his car. Afterwards the man causes some incident and confrontation from his neighbor Douglas Hunsiker. Caesar unknown of the situation intervenes but soon dragged to a primate shelter (for apes in captivity) During this time will tries to get Caesar out of the primate shelter, but soon dealt with the sorrowful fate of his father Charles. At the time when will went to his job, his employee Franklin rushes to his house to warn him of the illness from the ALZ-113 experiment in the lab. At near the end of the film, Will tries to take Caesar home but the ape refuses. Caesar then attempts to break all apes out of captivity or locked up in different areas of San Francisco, which soon leads to a war on the Golden Gate bridge. In the end, he along with Caroline witness the battle and soon descend to the woods. Will rushes to Caesar's aid. However once he got to the woods, Caesar confronts him and tells him "Caesar is home". Will recieves a hug from Caesar in shocked way, Will, realizing that this is indeed their last farewell, respects Caesar's wishes. Will watches Caesar with the other apes climb to the tops of the Redwoods. Dawn of the Planet of the Ape: Firestorm Will is mentioned a number of times but never actually makes a physical appearance. Will is seen in a flashback that relates back to Rise when he and his team begin experimenting with the ALZ-113 on Koba. The flashback being told from Koba's perspective. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes As of this film, Will has been dead a number of years after becoming "ground zero" of the Simian Flu outbreak. When Malcolm, Ellie, and Alexander finds a weak Caesar, Caesar directs the three to his old home. Malcolm would find a photo of a young Caesar and Rodman. A couple of days later, Caesar would find an old recording of him and Rodman where Rodman teaches him how to sign "home". Personality Will was a kind yet desperate man. As the sole carer of his Alzheimer's stricken father other than his nurse, Will learned to juggle his responsibilities along with his workload. After adopting Caesar, Will became a single parent showing his paternal and (over) protective side. Will was also seen to be selfless as he put the wellbeings both of Caesar and Charles before his own. When it came to his work, Will was said to be the star of Gen-Sys before taking in and raising Caesar. His star status was revoked by Jacobs when Will failed to show up for work everyday in order to raise Caesar and care for his father after the nurse quits and to focus on making sure that the ALZ-112 worked accordingly. Relationships Charles Rodman Charles was Will's father. Will loved his father more then anything and was his sole carer after Charles' nurse quit. Father and son became closer when Will unwillingly adopted Caesar. Before Caroline became a member of the family, Charles helped Will raise Caesar. Will struggled having to juggle raising Caesar and caring for his father on his own but he managed. Charles was forever thankful to Will for giving him a new lease on life after Will tested the ALZ-112 on him, but refused to allow Will to test the ALZ-113 on him, as he had fought long enough and wanted to die in peace. Caesar Caesar was Will's adoptive ape son.'' Will was reluctant to care for Caesar at first but when the then infant held onto his finger on his first night at the house, Will knew Caesar needed him. As the years went on, Will grew to love Caesar and looked to him as a son. Despite Caesar's curious nature as a three year old, Will became worried when Caesar became injured after he ventured into their animal-hating neighbor's backyard. When it came to their first encounter with Caroline, Caesar was the one to intervene when Will, shy and uncomfortable, couldn't get himself to ask Caroline out on a date. Five years later, Will continued to love Caesar and but struggled at times to understand what his adoptive son was thinking. When Caesar began to question his identity, Will, unable to hide the truth from him any longer takes him and Caroline to Gen-Sys where he explained how Caesar came to be in his care. After this, Will became aware of Caesar's now defiant behavior but doesn't think much of it. After Caesar's attack on their neighbor, Will was afraid of losing Caesar and confided in Caroline as he vowed to her that he wouldn't lose both his father and his son. When Caesar was taken to the San Bruno Primate Shelter, Will wasn't far behind. He was reluctant to let him go but forced himself to leave much to Caesar's distress. After he bribes John Landon into letting return Caesar home, Will gets the shock of his life when Caesar shuts his cage door coldly in his face. Later, when Caesar has lead a mass breakout and is heading towards the forest, Will with Caroline yet again in tow, heads towards the forest only they become stuck on the Bridge. Will, sneaking around the police and the other officers ends up in the middle of battle. Terrified of what Caesar has become, Will calls for him and is greeted with a look of surprise from his adoptive son. After the battle on the bridge, Will heads towards the forest but is set upon by Koba who wants to hurt him. Will is saved at the last moment by Caesar who threatens the Bonobo, telling him to leave Will alone. Caesar holds his hand out to him. Will now utterly terrified, takes his hand reluctantly and is helped to his feet. He begs Caesar to return home and offers him protection from what's to come showing he still loved Caesar. Caesar, now having gained the respect of the other apes, hugs him and whispers "Caesar is Home" in his ear. Realizing that Rodney had been right, Will gives Caesar his blessing and watches as he descends into the trees. Caroline Aranha Caroline Aranha was Will's girlfriend. Will meets Caroline when Caesar, then three years old becomes injured after he ventures into the Rodman's neighbor's backyard. Caesar sets Will an Caroline up on a date much to Will's embarrassment. The pair bond over their love for Caesar and begin dating. Five years later, Caroline is an unofficial member of the Rodman family and acts as Caesar's adoptive mother. When the now eight year old begins to question his identity, Caroline becomes angry that Will hasn't told her the truth about Caesar's past and demands that he tell her the truth. Once Will has told her everything, she says that things aren't meant to be controlled, acting as voice of reason towards him. Despite her love for Will, she thought he was selfish for loving Caesar and using him as a lab rat. When Caesar leads a mass breakout, Caroline finds Rodney locked in a cage and calls for Will. When the terrified man tells them that he heard Caesar speak, she looks at Will, confused and follows him to the Golden Gate Bridge. When they become stuck on the bridge, she kisses Will before he sets out in his search for their rogue adoptive son. Notes * The name "Rodman" is a tribute to Rodman (Rod) Serling, writer of the first ''Planet of the Apes screenplay. * It is also coincidentally a partial anagram of Armando, which, seeing as they both raised their own Caesar, is a further link between the 2011 reboot and the original films. Trivia * An earlier version of the script indicated that "Will" was short for "Wilson Rodman", a reference to the other writer credited on the original movie, Michael Wilson. In the same script, Will's father often addresses Will as "John", but Will reminds him that "John is gone". After his father's death, Will looks at an old photo showing his father with two teenage sons. Later, Will goes to the primate facility after Caesar has taken over and, believing Caesar to have murdered Robert Franklin, decides he has to kill Caesar to prevent further bloodshed. However, Cornelia eats the poisoned cookie Will offered to Caesar and dies before the apes reach the Golden Gate Bridge. Later, after discovering that it was Koba who killed Franklin, Will goes to the redwood forest to negotiate a peaceful outcome with Caesar, but the police renege on their agreement with Will and follow him in order to shoot as many apes as possible. Will takes a bullet intended for Caesar, and dies in his arms as the apes ambush the police and slaughter them. * In the original filmed climax to the movie, this plot was modified so that John Landon follows Will into the forest with a shotgun and Will gets shot protecting Caesar. Landon is then killed by the apes and Koba takes Landon's gun. A test audience was shown this ending and reacted negatively, and so a different ending was shot on July 4 weekend, 2011, in Griffith Park, with a slightly more positive feel.[http://www.theqandapodcast.com/2011/12/rise-of-planet-of-apes-q.html Rise of the Planet of the Apes Q & A Podcast] - The Q&A with Jeff Goldsmith (December 13, 2011) * "Will" was also the name of the main character in a failed mid-"90s" Apes movie project named Return of the Apes, which producer Peter Chernin had also been involved in. * Tobey Maguire and Bobby Campo were considered for the role of Will. * It is speculated that Will and Caroline would have died from the virus by the events of Dawn of the Planet of the Apes as James Franco and Freida Pinto were not asked to reprise their roles. * If Will and Caroline did die from the outbreak of the ALZ-113 (Simian Flu), it can be assumed that they were caught in the crossfire of the virus outbreak that was mentioned in the Comic Con teaser by Dreyfus (Gary Oldman) that lasted 4 years before the battle caused the humans to turn on each other. * Much like Armando in the original films, Will most likely never got to see the kingdom that Caesar created from the ground up let alone meet Caesar's own thriving family consisting of his wife (Cornelia) and his two sons. * In the second tv spot for Dawn, when Caesar is watching the video of Will and his younger self, Malcolm who is with him, asks who the man in the video is and Caesar, not wanting to say too much, he simply tells Malcolm that Will was a good man, just like him (Malcolm). * Keri Russell's character, Ellie makes an indirect mention to Will in the footage shown at CinemaCon 2014. She says that the Simian Flu was created by humans while arguing with another male character. * In an article by USA Today, it says that Will and possibly Caroline (not mentioned) died from the Simian Flu. * In a recent interview, written while Dawn of the Planet of the Apes was still being filmed, there was a mention by the interviewer to Andy Serkis about the fate of Will and about how Will's fate will be addressed. Not wanting to give too much away, Serkis mentioned that there will be a direct mention of Will. Part of the scene has been seen in the latest trailers and the film's second tv spot. * Will is likely to make a cameo in a flashback of some kind in Dawn as a form of closure for Caesar and resolve the reason as to why he ends up at the old Rodman house. Though James Franco didn't film any new footage it can be assumed that Caesar may have a flashback of his time at the house or even there may be the remains of photos that were taken when Caesar was younger. Franco said in an interview with EW that he had no knowledge of the cameo. The footage could so be the unused ending that was originally supposed to be in Rise as a way of revealing how Will died or it could be unused footage that never made it into the final cut of Rise. * Will makes an appearance in the first full trailer for Dawn. He is seen on a video camera with a then young Caesar teaching him how to sign "Caesar, you are home". The video is seen in the International trailer and in the second tv spot as well. * According to an article in Collider from late April, producer Dylan Clark revealed Will and Caroline were never supposed to survive the end of Rise and that Will's death was a way of punishment for beginning the downfall of man via the ALZ-113. Image Gallery ThumbnailCA25BVMX.jpg|One exception. ThumbnailCAUX3ZYI.jpg|At the zoo with Caesar. ThumbnailCALWS0YU.jpg|Open Space. Thumbnail.jpg|He hasn't spent anytime with other chimps. colours.jpg|Will at work. ThumbnailCA2WRQ9L.jpg|113 trials. 113.jpg|Hiding the ALZ-113. Will Rodman.jpg|Will analysises Caesar's progress. Will & Caesar.jpg|Will plays around with Caesar. Will Rise.jpg|Will, terrified, tries to summon Caesar. Footage of Will and Caesar.png|Footage of Will and Caesar. 527_1_mg_0790-620x400.jpg|Will in the Forest. References Category:Humans Category:Male Characters Category:Heroes Category:CE Category:CE Characters Category:Ape Rebellion (CE) Category:Rodman Family Category:Caesar's Family (CE) Category:Deceased Characters Category:Victims of the Simian Flu Category:Human Colony Category:Characters